Once again, with the approach of the holidays, we muse on the most brain-busting of enigmas: what to put in the stockings of our favorite gamers. There are some obvious choices: minis and dice for your roleplaying fans, booster packs for those who enjoy collectible card games, and templates or strategy cards for your wargamer loved ones. Let’s take a deeper look at a few things that will raise your stocking-stuffers head-and-shoulders above the rest.
New Dice Tech: Our shiny math-rocks just get more and more varied each year. Last year we saw crystal dice sparkle like rainbows and tiny inclusions, like kittens and dinosaurs, actually inside the dice. This year, we have liquid-core dice and delicate metal filigree dice.
Card Sleeves: If you’re shopping for a fan of CCGs (Collectible Card Games) like Pokémon and the new One Piece CCG, consider buying them sleeves they can keep their cards in. These transparent holders protect the cards while allowing them to still be played with.
Even if they’re not a fan of card games, these sorts of sleeves can be useful to protect cards used in their favorite board games. Ask the friendly folks at your local Dragon’s Lair Comics and Fantasy® about which size cards work best for different games.
Speaking of cards, a lot of role-playing games also have cards that can be used with them. From humorous or brutal critical hit cards, to item cards, to random character cards, some are system-agnostic while others were printed to work with very specific games. Especially if you know someone who runs a game published by Free League Press (like ALIEN or Vaesen) or Paizo (such as Pathfinder or Starfinder), the friendly folks at your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® can find items that will enhance their games and make prep a lot easier.
An Entire Game: believe it or not, you can actually fit an entire game in a stocking, with room left for candy canes and gift cards. Even some role-playing games! Check out the Polymorph RPGs, where every player uses just one die depending on their character type. The rockin’ magical princess game The Excellents as well as the Star Wars nostalgia-fueled Rebel Scum come in a small paperback that can easily fit in most stockings, as will hardback games like the Star Trek solo RPG Captain’s Log.
If you prefer board and card games, you’ve got a lot of options. Roll For Your Life, Candyman, is a thematic game for up to four players that includes pieces shaped like gingerbread men and candy canes. Want something more in line with the gothy vibe of Wednesday Adams? Check out the many different Gloom games where you use your cards to tell the saddest tale of woe.
As always, your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® is staffed with gaming and comics experts to help you find just the right gifts for the gamer, comic fan, and fantasy enthusiast in your life. Come by today to ensure that you’ll be able to get that perfect gift in time for the holidays.
All Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® locations are independently owned and operated by local folks. Not all stores will carry all games but will be willing to attempt to special order any that they do not carry. (And they’ll carry most.)
